PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Saboury, Babak
AU  - Gharavi, Mohammad
AU  - Blomberg, Björn
AU  - Werner, Thomas
AU  - Lim, Esther
AU  - Torigian, Drew
AU  - Chen, Gang
AU  - Akers, Scott
AU  - Alavi, Abass
TI  - Assessment of delayed FDG-PET/CT for optimized visualization of atherosclerotic plaque: A new observation
DP  - 2012 May 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 1854--1854
VI  - 53
IP  - supplement 1
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/53/supplement_1/1854.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/53/supplement_1/1854.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2012 May 01; 53
AB  - 1854 Objectives The main objective of this study was to determine whether PET/CT imaging at later time points following administration of FDG allows for optimal visualization of atherosclerotic plaque in the major arteries. Methods Twenty-one subjects who underwent FDG-PET/CT imaging for preoperative staging assessment of cancer were enrolled. Following administration of FDG, whole body PET/CT images were acquired at 1, 2, and 3 hours. An experienced physician blindly reviewed each study and qualitatively assessed the degree of FDG uptake in the aortic wall using the following rating system: 0 = none, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, and 3 = severe. Results Based on this visual analysis, there was significant correlation between visual detection of atherosclerotic plaque and the time interval between FDG administration and PET image acquisition . Except for 1 subject where no gross change was noted among the three time points, all other subjects showed statistically significantly improved visualization of aortic atherosclerosis on delayed time point images (Friedman= 16.22; Kendall’s coefficient=0.9012; P-value=0.0003). Conclusions These data demonstrate that standard PET/CT acquisition at 60-90 minutes after FDG administration is suboptimal for assessment of atherosclerotic plaque. Therefore, we believe that delayed imaging should be adopted as the procedure of choice when FDG-PET/CT is employed for detection and quantification of atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta and other major arteriesQualitative Rating: Degree of FDG Uptake in AortaThe rows are the qualitative scores based on 1, 2, and 3 hour PET images, whereas each column corresponds to each subject